


Take this sinking boat and point it home

by ladygriffyndor



Series: maps that lead to you [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 4+1, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bellarke, F/M, embarrassing old user names, warning very fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 05:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6503422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladygriffyndor/pseuds/ladygriffyndor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or 4 times they thought Bellamy was dating her and 1 time Clarke couldn't keep lying to herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take this sinking boat and point it home

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the prompt "a small child asks person a if they are in love with person b" and I kind of got too excited. The title is from Glen Hansard's Falling Slowly. I hope you enjoy!  
> Beta-ed by the cutest of all cuties [Mia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lordmxrphy)

> **_i. restaurant_ **

Clarke was running late for Octavia’s birthday, the last thing she needed was a turtle driving in front of her. The asshole in the red car was driving at what seemed like three centimeters per hour. And then he had the nerve to stop to let a bunch of boy scouts cross the street. She cursed at the ringing of her phone, O was calling her again but Clarke didn’t pick up, she definitely didn’t need to hear her friend yell at her for being late when it  _ clearly  _ wasn’t her fault. 

The street was packed and Clarke had no way of passing the car in front of her, so she had to endure its slow driving the whole time. Every time the road diverged, she hoped he would turn and leave her behind. But when he parked in front of Arkadia and stepped out of the car, Clarke realized why she hadn’t been able to lose him. The freckled man walking across the street was someone she had only seen in pictures… Octavia’s older brother Bellamy Blake. 

Clarke parked her own car before crossing the street, she walked with long strides and quickly made her way towards the entrance. Proving to walk as slow as he drove, Bellamy had only reached the door and Clarke tried to enter at the same time he did, what caused her to collide against his shoulder. 

Murder seriously crossed Clarke’s thoughts for a moment.

“I would like to see Octavia before she turns forty,” she protested as she walked past him. Bellamy looked confused, but he followed her. 

His face lost its frown when he finally recognized her.

“Clarke Griffin,” he announced proudly. She rolled her eyes without stopping. He beamed. 

They reached their friends’ table and Bellamy endured Octavia’s scolding for being late with a big smile that only disappeared when Clarke managed to criticize his hair, his driving and his walking ability in just a sentence. Still, he pulled out the chair for her. 

As soon as Clarke had some french fries and her beer was halfway gone, she became more polite and actually decided to include Bellamy in her conversation, forgiving him on the condition that he buy her another beer and drive behind her when they left the restaurant.

When the waiters were clearing the plates she stood to go to the ladies room, missing the moment when dessert was offered. The waiter asked for the orders around the table and after Bellamy asked for his apple pie he was asked the weirdest question. 

“Sir, do you know what your girlfriend would want to have?” 

The teasing laughter only became stronger when Clarke finally came back from the restroom, especially because — remembering that she had mentioned during their conversation that she loved the chocolate cake from Arkadia — a very embarrassed Bellamy had actually ordered for her.

 

> **_ii. Cinema queue_ **

Clarke’s annoyance was visible in the way she furiously tapped her reply to Raven’s text. Bellamy didn’t mean to pry, but he could make sense of the conversation just by glances to the emojis, the princess only uses the finger on very serious situations. Being late to the movies, for example. 

The queue moved along and Bellamy pressed his hand against the small of her back, urging her to take a step forward, Clarke did so without looking up. 

“I swear that if we miss the previews I am going to kill them,” she hissed. Searching for his eyes once she pressed send on her lengthy and presumably rude message. 

“We’ll leave the tickets for them to pick up at the desk and wait for them inside. I’ll even buy you gummy worms if you stop looking like you are about to murder someone. There are kids here, princess.” 

The murderous glare in her eyes intensified, but Bellamy was able to see through it, eventually she cracked and laughed. 

“Anything for gummy worms. And stop calling me princess already.”

“It’s your fault. You should have never given me your old email address.”

Clarke (formerly princezzgriffinrockz@groundmail.com ) shoved him in protest, but he simply laughed and took a step forward once the line moved again. The pair bickered back and forth as the queue moved towards the counter and once they reached it they were welcomed with the arched eyebrows and smug smile of none other but John Murphy. 

“Well look at that, Blake. Of all people, I would have never thought  _ you  _ would take the prize home. I take my hat off to you.”

Clarke’s face turned red, but it was hard to know whether it was from anger or embarrassment. 

“We are not dating, Murphy. Knock it off,” Bellamy demanded, feeling a little more aggressive than he should. 

Murphy raised both his hand, but the smirk didn’t go anywhere. “Whatever you say, loverboy. Anyway, welcome to Trikru Cinemas where dreams of college students come to die, etcetera, etcetera. Two tickets I presume? For a really bad movie? Seats in the…  _ back row?”  _ He finished his sentence after a dramatic pause, his smile growing when Clarke’s eyes sparkled, she looked like she was about to jump over the counter and choke him to death. Thankfully her phone decided to beep in that moment and she looked down to her screen, allowing Bellamy to recover and shut Murphy up. 

“First of all, Star Wars is  _ not  _ a bad movie. Second of all, we would like seats in the middle.  _ Five  _ tickets, to be precise.” 

Murphy chuckled and started typing into his computer as Bellamy reached for his wallet. They were both interrupted when Clarke bashfully cleared her throat. 

“Uhm, Raven just texted me. Jasper and Monty decided to bail, so she is bailing too… make it two tickets.”

Murphy’s obnoxiously loud laughter was still ringing in both their ears even after the movie ended. 

 

> **_iii. supermarket_ **

The conditioner made Miller raise his eyebrows but he didn’t mention it. It was already bad enough that they were pushing a shopping cart through the aisles of the supermarket being all domestic and stuff, and then Bellamy made him look like an idiot by staring at the girl’s shampoo shelf for around ten minutes. But he took a deep breath and kept his skepticism for himself. 

When Bellamy “the cilantro on tacos is vegetable enough” Blake added some lettuce and real not-ketchup-tomatoes to their cart, Miller opened his mouth to say something, but he clenched his hands into fists and swallowed down his words. 

_ Don’t pry,  _ he listened to Monty in his head.  _ They will tell us when they’re ready.  _

But the milk was just too much. 

“No, grab the purple one. Clarke’s lactose intolerant,” Bellamy said matter-of-factly before turning around to grab a box of Mac & Cheese, the same one he dropped when Miller finally exploded. 

“Alright, what the fuck, Blake?” 

The lady on the other side of the aisle gasped and Bellamy looked confused for a moment before he bent down to pick up the blue box and placing it on the cart again. 

“What are you talking about?” 

Miller gestured at the groceries before letting out an indignant “This!”

“You are buying  _ nail polish remover  _ Bellamy. She has a spare toothbrush in our bathroom, and I know it’s not O’s because she would never buy a pink one. Her freaking doodles are  _ on the fridge  _ like she’s some kind of kindergartener. You are buying salad and hair conditioner, and now you are getting all worried because she’s lactose intolerant?” 

Bellamy squared his jaw but sheepishly looked down as he pretended to fix the box of cocoa puffs he had gotten for Clarke. 

“So? You can get normal milk too if you don’t like lactose-free.”

Miller sighed, running his hand through his face in exasperation. 

“That’s not what I am asking.”

“Then  _ what  _ are you asking?”

“If you are dating my best friend I would like to know.”

The aisle four was filled with a tense silence. Bellamy glared at Miller, who simply glared back. 

“Clarke and I are not dating,” he stated finally. “Besides, most of the time she is at our place she is waiting for you to come back from work, or doing homework, or hanging out with Octavia. We are just friends.”

After a long pause, Miller simply nodded, placing the lactose-free milk on the cart and pushing it away. 

“Let me know if anything changes.”

  
  


> **_iv. bar_ **

Somewhere along the line, the question became painful. It used to be easy to laugh, roll his eyes and look at her shaking her head, her beautiful blonde hair dancing when she did. But after that night at the bar, the “we are just friends” Clarke let out so easily started breaking his heart.

Bellamy was dragged into the new bar downtown with the promise of hot chicks and open bar, but he knew it was mostly so Clarke could leave whenever she got bored of Octavia and Raven’s shameless flirting. He was also taller and much better at getting the attention of the bartender when their bottles were emptied. 

“Go dance, I’ll get us more beers,” he practically shouted at Clarke’s ear, trying to make himself heard over the music and she nodded, he stood there for a moment, taking in the scent of her hair and the way she seemed to glow underneath the multicolor lights. Bellamy tried to shake off the way she had squeezed his knee when she rose from their seats and walked towards the dancefloor. He turned his back to the ethereal vision of her waving her hips to the rhythm of the music, and walked up to the bar. 

“Can I get two more of these?” He asked the girl behind it, pushing their empty bottles across the bar. 

She nodded and reached down to grab two new ones, snapping them open in a second. 

“You are a hell of a good boyfriend, you know?” She mentioned, making herself heard over the music as she handed him the beers. 

“Pardon?” He asked in confusion, but he knew what she meant before the words finished leaving her mouth. 

“The blonde girl you came in with…”

“She’s not my girlfriend, we are just friends,” Bellamy cut her off politely. A resentful feeling settling on the pit of his stomach for the first time.

“Why?” The bartender seemed genuinely interested. “I’m sure you guys get that question a lot, you look  _ great  _ together. And I am a bartender, I know about chemistry, trust me.”

“Guess I never really thought about it,” Bellamy mumbled, blushing when he caught himself lying. “Well,  _ seriously  _ thought about it.”

The girl behind the counter shrugged and looked away when someone motioned her over. 

“Well think about it  _ now _ , Freckles. And unless you can find a good reason to  _ not _ be with the hella cute girl you are crazy about, I’d say  _ go for it.”  _

Her words stuck on Bellamy’s head as he walked back to their table, his heart beat hard and fast as he thought about the dozen times they had been mistaken for a couple. Had he been wasting his time all along? He should have definitely asked her out the second he laid eyes on her. 

Who was trying to fool? He was in love with Clarke Griffin.

_ So why am I not dating her yet?  _ He asked himself as he set the cold beers on their table, searching for the answer to his question as he scanned the dance floor. Once his eyes found her figure Bellamy was able to answer himself. He sat down, suddenly breathless as if he had just been kicked in the stomach, when he saw Clarke grinding her hips against Finn Collins, her former crush and current owner of her neck, apparently. 

_ Because she isn’t in love with me.  _

 

> **_\+ v. museum_ **

“Are you in love with Mr. Bellamy?” 

That was  _ not  _ the type of question Clarke had signed up for when she agreed to join Bellamy’s tour. 

Clarke’s class had been cancelled, as soon as she read the email on her phone she turned around on her feet and started walking towards the museum Bellamy worked at. Ever since she found out Finn had been cheating on Raven and her (simultaneously) she avoided the campus as much as possible, going from classroom to classroom without looking up when he heard her calling her name. 

Bellamy’s official job was to research and write lengthy papers for scientific magazines, more than once he had read aloud his complicated and geeky articles to her, Clarke pretended to care about whether or not the Romans had worn sandals and nodded respectfully when he paused. But more often than not, he left his office downstairs to take a bunch of kids around the museum, filling their little heads with weird facts about the expositions. It was what he liked to do best.  

Clarke entered the museum’s offices looking for him – she was there so often no one asked for her ID anymore. She knocked twice on the half-open door before walking inside Bellamy’s office. The place was overflowing with books, post it notes and discarded jackets that he had forgotten to take home. She left the brown bag full of donuts on his desk, right in between the picture he had of Octavia as a child and one of Bellamy and Clarke sticking out their tongues. 

“I think he is about to start a tour, you could wait for him here,” Kane’s voice said from behind her. He was standing right outside Bellamy’s door, holding a bunch of freshly printed papers in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Kane was Bellamy’s boss, and he gave her a knowing smile when she turned around. 

“I might tag along with the tour if that’s okay.” 

The man nodded and Clarke hurried upstairs, catching up with Bellamy when he was just about to leave the main hall, a dozen of kids following behind him. 

“You guys don’t mind if my good friend Clarke walks with us, do you?” 

Clare tried to focus on how his face had brightened up when he saw her, somehow managing to keep her smile on after the ‘good friend’ part; she joined his side when the kids gave their approval.

Soon enough it became obvious, even to the kids, that Bellamy’s eyes kept flitting to Clarke, taking in her reactions to his words; or that sometimes he spoke for a little longer than usual making eye contact with her only. The blonde chirped in once in a while, complementing his information on paintings and sculptures with her own Art History knowledge, and some girls in the back giggled at the way Bellamy’s eyes sparkled when she spoke. 

One of those girls claimed to be afraid of the dark, so Clarke offered to stay outside the planetarium with her, not expecting her to drop that bomb of a question. 

“Are you in love with Mr. Bellamy?”

“Why would you ask that?” She asked defensively, suddenly forgetting it was a 12-year-old she was against. 

“Because he is in love with you, it’s  _ obvious.”  _ The girl let out the last word proudly. 

“Well you are wrong,” Clarke cut her off dryly, her heart turning heavier when she remembered the dozen times he had dismissed other people’s comments with a simple “we are just friends.” She thought of Finn’s accusations, based on the fact that she didn’t get to be mad at him since she was in love with Bellamy anyway. 

“He… uhm, I… we are just friends alright?” Clarke stammered, suddenly losing her nerve. “He is older and he has a real job, and I’m just an Art student I am his sister’s friend, okay? He only sees me as a friend, he is never going to want me, so why don’t you get back to your homework and leave me alone?”

Clarke looked away from the startled girl, trying to find a spot on the wall to focus on not to tear up, instead she found Bellamy’s shocked face. 

The apologies stumbled across her mind.  _ I’m sorry for yelling at a girl and most probably bringing you problems with Kane. I’m sorry for never telling you how I felt. I’m sorry for getting emotional. I’m sorry for ruining our friendship. I’m sorry that I love you.  _

“You are going to get me fired, Clarke.” His words echoed in the silent museum, the way her words must have done too. Everyone was watching them now.  She was red with embarrassment, and her hands tightened into fists as she tried to hold back tears. Clarke opened her mouth to dismiss herself, but he stopped her by walking up to where she stood. “Not only did you distract me the whole tour, you also yelled at a client and now… now I’m going to have to kiss you in front of all these kids.” Bellamy chuckled nervously, cupping her face with one of his hands. 

“But it’s worth it, because, damn it, I love proving you wrong, princess.” 

The words that sounded so romantic, grand and novel-worthy on his head came out hasty and breathless as he rushed to slam his lips against hers. Only relaxing into the kiss once her fingers found their rightful place in his dark curls. 

* * *

Miller barked a laugh at the text message on his screen. Monty eyed him curiously, raising his eyebrows as he walked towards his boyfriend.

“You owe me ten bucks,” Miller told him as Monty read the message. 

_ “Update: I am dating your best friend.” _


End file.
